ASUS Transformer Pad 300 Review

Article Index

Performance Analysis and Final Thoughts

Performance Analysis: The ASUS Transformer Pad 300 is hot tablet, offering excellent performance across the board; the only issue is that its predecessor, the Transformer Prime, actually performs just as well if not better. Further, the iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus also bested the Transformer Pad 300 in some tests.

That said, the Transformer 300 offers just about anything you could want in a tablet and then some. The graphics capabilities are superb, and the Tegra 3 offers more than enough performance for any app available for the device. We were routinely impressed by how fast the tablet performed tasks such as Web browsing, app launching, and various mundane activities, and the display is as responsive and quick as we’ve seen. Gaming is great, with stunning visuals and smooth-as-silk gameplay. The Tegra 3 chip and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich deliver an overall terrific user experience.

The display wasn’t as bright as that of the Transformer Prime, but ASUS made up for it in other areas, most notably in the audio department. Despite some directional sound production, the stereo speakers outperformed what you’ll typically hear even in full-size notebooks.

The keyboard dock accessory for the Transformer Pad 300 complements the tablet very well, offering additional ports, sturdy support, and a well-designed layout that feels as comfortable as a tiny keyboard can and offers plenty of convenient dedicated keys.

Is the Transformer Pad 300 a laptop replacement tablet? No, but it’s darn close. It certainly obviates the need for any netbook, ever. There are still some limitations to content creation, including the slightly undersized keyboard and under-featured mobile versions of online tools such as Google Docs, but if you’re happy with the kind of productivity that apps offer, this is actually a good laptop alternative.

As always, we come down to the price. All too often, this is the part of the review where we have to temper our enthusiasm by noting that the product in question costs way more than most of us are willing to spend. However, this time around, we’re very glad to note that the Transformer Pad 300 is actually a nice deal--it’s $379 for the 16GB version and $399 for the 32GB version, and the dock will run you $150. At worst, though, that’s $550, which isn’t a bad sticker price for a superb tablet/netbook--especially considering that the Transformer Prime started at almost $100 more for the 32GB edition. All things considered, the Transformer Pad 300 is a sweet deal.

Price

Performance

Overall Design

Graphics

Excellent audio

No 3G or 4G LTE connectivity

Display could be brighter

Performance not demonstrably better than Transformer Prime but far better than the original Transformer